Citigroup to Pay $7 Billion for “Egregious” Sale of Toxic Mortgages
Citigroup has agreed to pay $7 billion to settle a federal probe over its sale of toxic mortgage-backed securities that helped sink the economy and displace millions of people. The deal includes $2.5 billion in relief for those who lost their homes. At a news conference Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder said the settlement includes a civil penalty of $4 billion, the largest penalty to date of its kind. But in a statement, the group Public Citizen called the deal “too lenient,” noting no criminal charges have been announced.
Two dozen villages of Raigad protesting
Hundreds of farmers from two dozen villages of Raigad district in Maharashtra today protested against forced land acquisition of 67,500 acres (one acre equals 0.4 ha) for Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). The protesters marched towards the district sub-division office (SDO) under the banner of Corridor Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti and Jagatikikaran Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti claiming that the land was being acquired forcefully.
Germany Expels CIA Station Chief over U.S. Spying
Germany has ordered the top U.S. intelligence official in the country to leave amidst tensions over U.S. spying. Over the past several days, two German government workers have been accused of spying for the United States. The cases have renewed anger over leaks from Edward Snowden, which showed the United States was monitoring the communications of millions of Germans and tapping Chancellor Angela Markel’s cellphone. On Thursday, the German government announced it was expelling the CIA station chief in Berlin, citing both the recent allegations and “months of unsolved questions around the activities of U.S. intelligence agencies in Germany.”